Golden State Warriors (4-0) at Miami Heat (0-4)
Tip-Off: Friday, October 17, 2014 – 5:30PM PDT
Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, MO
TV: Radio Only – KNBR 1050; Also Available on Sun Sports Network (Local Miami Broadcast)
Livetweet: Game Updates @LetsGoWarriors on Twitter
Projected Starting Lineups:
Warriors:
PG: Stephen Curry (24.0 PPG, 8.5 APG, 4.3)
SG: Klay Thompson (18.4 PPG, 2.2 APG, 3.1 RPG)
SF: Andre Iguodala (9.3 PPG, 4.2 APG, 4.7 RPG)
PF: David Lee (18.3 PPG, 2.1 APG, 9.3 RPG)
C: Andrew Bogut (7.3 PPG, 1.7 APG, 10 RPG)
Head Coach: Steve Kerr
Heat:
PG: Mario Chalmers (9.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.9 APG)
SG: Dwyane Wade (19.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.7 APG)
SF: Luol Deng (16.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.9 APG)
PF: Danny Granger (8.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.0 APG)
C: Chris Bosh (16.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.1 APG)
Head Coach: Eric Spoelstra
Last Time Out:
The Warriors overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets 104-101 in Des Moines, IA
Keys To The Game:
The Heat play a very perimeter-oriented game, featuring five starters that are a threat to shoot from beyond the arc. It will be important for the Warriors defense to not over-help and create open shot opportunities for their opponent.
Bosh is undersized at center, but is one of the best floor-stretching post players in the game, with an arsenal that includes one of the league’s best mid-range jumpers and the occasional three pointer.
With LeBron James returning to the Cavaliers during the off-season, the Heat are still finding their new identity in this preseason, but haven’t had much success due to a very thin roster that lacks depth beyond the starting five.
Wade returns to his mantle as the face of the franchise, but is still adjusting to a larger work load as the Heat’s man ball-handler. He’ll have his hands full on both ends with Thompson and Curry, who are both averaging 30+ points per 36 minutes so far in the pre-season.
Chalmers’ return from a hip injury should bolster the Heat bench (whether he or Norris Cole starts), but Josh McRoberts has yet to appear in a Heat uniform and may miss part of the regular season, leaving Chris Anderson and Udonis Haslem as the Heat’s only backup bigs with any real experience.
The Warriors can take advantage there as the Heat’s rim protection is among the worst in the league, even when completely healthy.
A strong performance from the Warrior reserves inspires confidence for them moving forward. The bench should have another strong night in relief and it would be surprising to see the Dubs look over-matched by this undermanned Miami Heat squad.
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